Call for Applications: The Mary Claire Phipps Scholarship
This is a call for applications for a merit-based scholarship, with an application deadline of
March 15, 2010. The scholarship, for Economics students with Wisconsin residency status in
their approximate second year of study on the UW-Madison campus, will fully cover in-state
tuition for the 2010-11 school year and, conditional upon satisfactory progress, that of the
2011-12 school year as well.
The scholarship is generously funded by Mary Claire Phipps, who graduated from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison in 1951 with a degree in Economics. Phipps came from a family with
strong connections to this campus. She followed in the footsteps of both her father and mother,
who also graduated from the UW-Madison, in 1921 and 1922, respectively. Phipps, as a high
school student in Racine, Wis., was herself the recipient of a merit-based scholarship that
supported her in her university studies. Within the Department of Economics, Mary Claire
Phipps was particularly interested in the fields of Finance and Banking, and following her
graduation, she worked in the Trust Department of Northern Trust until she chose to devote her
remaining time and talents to raising a family.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Please read these requirements before applying. Only qualified applicants will be considered.
To be eligible, you must:
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Be a declared or prospective Economics major, planning to graduate with a BA or BS in
Economics from the College of Letters and Sciences at UW-Madison.
Have completed at least 24 credits of undergraduate study.
Have completed at least 3 credits of Economics course work on the UW-Madison campus
prior to scholarship application date.
Plan to be enrolled at UW-Madison full-time in 2010-11, as well as 2011-12.
Have a 3.3 overall GPA, with at least a 3.5 GPA in UW-Madison Economics courses.
Be a legal resident of the State of Wisconsin, as determined by the UW.
All eligible students are encouraged to apply, regardless of their qualification for need-based
financial aid. The winner will receive the scholarship for a second year of tuition funding, for the
2011-12 school year, as well as the 2009-10 school year, conditional on the student declaring
Economics as a major and maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in Economics and a 3.3 GPA overall.
If you have questions regarding your eligibility, please contact Susan Hering in the Economics
Undergraduate Office by e-mail: shering@ssc.wisc.edu.
PHIPPS APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Applications are being accepted by e-mail. The subject line of your cover letter/e-mail should
read “Mary Claire Phipps Scholarship,” and it should be sent to the Undergraduate Coordinator,
Susan Hering, at shering@ssc.wisc.edu, by March 15, 2010. Application material should be
attached as a PDF file, named: Phipps.last.first.PDF, where “last” and “first” are your names.
Alternatively, you may attach a text file, with .txt as the file suffix, rather than PDF.
Application for the Mary Claire Phipps Scholarship must include the following:
1. Complete contact information: Your name, student ID number, e-mail address, phone
number, and mailing address. Be sure to include contact information that will be useful
over the summer months, if that differs from your school year information!
2. Student classification, number of credits completed, and any information relevant to your
academic program, such as transfer credit status or participation in the honors program.
3. a) A list of the Economics courses you have completed or are taking, along with the
grades received in completed courses.
b) Overall GPA at time of application and GPA in completed Economics courses.
Transcripts will be checked to verify this information.
4. A one-page (double spaced, 1-inch margins) statement including any information you
deem useful to the awards committee. Remember, this is a merit-based, not need-based
scholarship. Examples of relevant information might include but are not limited to: career
plans/hopes, descriptions of relevant courses taken outside the UW Economics
Department, descriptions of particular accomplishments related to economics,
descriptions of summer or part-time jobs that involve economics or your motivation to
study economics, special projects relevant to your interest in the field of economics.
5. The names of two faculty members in the Economics Department who can serve as
references for you. These may include Teaching Assistants. You should check with these
faculty members before listing their names. Faculty references will be contacted directly
by the evaluating committee. You do not need to submit reference letters from your listed
references. We are aware that students do not always know faculty members well at this
early stage of their academic career and that the faculty members you list may well be
ones who have taught a large class and do not know you personally.
All questions regarding your application should be directed to Susan Hering in the Economics
Undergraduate Office, 7238 Social Science Building: shering@ssc.wisc.edu.
All materials are due in the Undergraduate Office by March 15, 2010. We will announce the
winner of the 2010-11 Mary Claire Phipps Scholarship no later than March 26, 2010.
We look forward to your application and wish you the best.